The organisation in charge of Nottingham Racecourse has asked racegoers to sign a petition to stop the implementation of betting affordability checks.
Proposed new Government checks could see betters forced to prove their income if they sustain losses of as low as £1.37 a day – or £500 a year.
The Government has said the proposed system will affect the highest spenders, while insisting its goal is to not unduly disrupt those who gamble without suffering serious financial issues.
It adds that it does not aim to unnecessarily damage sectors which rely on betting, particularly horseracing.
But now the organisation which runs Nottingham Racecourse has urged its customers to sign a petition calling for the changes to be stopped.
Created by better Kevin Truesdale, the petition asserts the belief that the checks are “inappropriate and discriminatory”.
In it, the organiser says it could have a negative impact on British horseracing’s finances due to a reduction in betting turnover, resulting fall in Levy yield.
Posting on social media platform X, The Jockey Club, which runs 15 racecourses nationally including the Colwick site, urged its followers to sign the petition.
It said: “British racing has launched a petition to stop the implementation of betting affordability checks.
“It’s been warned that these checks could have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on the industry. Sign the petition.”
The Government’s Gambling Commission consultation, however, has estimated that financial risk checks will reduce online horserace betting yield by 6% to 11%.
This would result in a reduction of racing’s income by £8.4 to £14.9 million per year (0.5% to 1% of its total income) through a reduction in levy, media rights and sponsorship returns.
Evan Hughes, 20, is a local horse racing fan, and stated his negative opinion of the new regulations, saying “It’ll kill horse racing”.
He said: “The prize money will gradually get less and less, the owners won’t be able to afford to keep multiple horses and you’ll see less horses entering each race”.
The petition is yet to reach the 100,000 signatures required to be considered for debate in Parliament, but has received 89,000 signatures, as of November 21.
The Government responded to the petition on November 16, saying: “We are committed to a proportionate, frictionless system of financial risk checks, to protect those at risk of harm without over regulating. The Gambling Commission will set out plans in due course.
The deadline for the petition is May 1, 2024, and with slightly more than 10,000 signatures needed, it is undoubtable that it will reach the necessary number, whether it will achieve its goal of seeing the new regulations reserved is inscrutable
